News of the Weird: Black Hawk, Colorado, isn't the only town on Earth to ban bicycle riding. Half a world away, there's a village in India where people are forced to walk their bikes.
The ban was instituted about 40 years ago in the village of Vilvamarathupatti, located in Tamil Nadu near the southern tip of the Indian peninsula.
According to the ExpressBuzz.com story “Still no bicycle pedaling in this village”, some kids were racing on their bicycles and struck some boys playing in the street, causing some injuries.
Town meeting
That caused quite a controversy in the village back in the 1970s, so the dharmakartha (head of the local Hindu temple) was called in to settle the issue. He formed a oor panchayat, which is a town meeting. This being rural India, only the highest caste members were invited to attend.
Together they decided to ban bicycles in the town, a prohibition that exists to this day. Only policemen are allowed to ride bicycles, and only while on business, according to ExpressBuzz.
Meanwhile youngsters and other still enjoy riding their bicycles, outside the village. They dismount once they cross into the town.
A video posted on YouTube shows a reporter interviewing different people walking their bicycles through the village.
No comment
This is where I might be prompted to make a jingoistic comment about how silly these villagers were to pass such a law, but it happened right here in the US as well.
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